Does Sex of the Victim Matter? A Comparison of Rape Scripts Involving a Male or Female Victim
Abstract
Much of the previous research on rape scripts suggests that the “typical” rape script involves a female victim and a male perpetrator. The idea of a male victim, therefore, is missing from this “typical” rape script, despite the fact that sexual assault can be perpetrated by or against members of both sexes. This study compared the scripts individuals hold for rape involving male and female victims by specifically asking participants (72 men and 66 women) to write two scripts based on the sex of the victim. Results indicated that in both types of scripts, a “typical” rape consisted of an event that involved one male assailant, who had some degree of previous interaction with the victim; a victim who had been drinking; the use of physical force by the assailant; and lead to negative psychological consequences for the victim. Some key differences were a greater focus on the role of alcohol and the victim's behavior in the rape scripts involving female victims and an emphasis on the victim not reporting and inclusion of the use of sexual coercion tactics by female perpetrators in the rape scripts involving male victims. Implications are discussed with respect to understanding societal and cultural influences on rape scripts and suggestions for prevention education.
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Published In
Violence and Gender
Volume 6 • Issue Number 3 • September 2019
Pages: 175 - 186
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Copyright 2019, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.
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Published online: 10 September 2019
Published in print: September 2019
Published ahead of print: 30 May 2019
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